Airbus Defence and Space Receives Long-range Surveillance Contract from the Middle East

The Optronics business unit of Airbus Defence and Space is to supply an undisclosed Middle Eastern country with a large number of Z:NightOwl M combined opto-electronic and infrared imaging systems for the protection of its borders and coastlines. The contract has a value in the tens of millions of euros.

The surveillance system has been specifically developed for extremely long-range observation purposes. It combines a very large field of view for wide-area observation and detection with an extremely small field of view for identification. It thus fulfils the highest requirements for the seamless protection of land and maritime borders. The system has furthermore been designed with warmer climates in mind, so as to deliver optimal vision at long ranges even under adverse conditions such as air turbulence and haze.

Z:NightOwl M consists of the third-generation thermal imager ATTICA M-ER with an optimal megapixel detector as well as an eye-safe laser rangefinder. It offers extreme magnification through a 200x continuous zoom. The system can optionally be further equipped with a near-infrared (NIR) or a short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera. It can be easily integrated into existing systems or those under construction for the protection of borders and coastlines.

The Optronics business unit of Airbus Defence and Space designs, develops and manufactures optronic, optic and precision-engineered products for military, civil and security applications at its German sites in Oberkochen and Wetzlar, as well as in Irene (South Africa), Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Sidi bel Abbès (Algeria), and has around 800 employees. These optronic products are used globally by armed forces and security personnel for monitoring, identification and classification purposes, as well as for highly precise measurement, evaluation and targeting. They are deployed on various platforms, including submarines, armoured vehicles, manned and unmanned aircraft and satellites, for land, air, sea and space missions.